Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Japan this week.

I came across four different news stories related to Japan.

The first reported that sales of adult diapers in Japan
would soon exceed that of baby diapers. The changing demographics and increase
in percentage of geriatric citizens ( quite a few of them suffering from
incontinence) leads to more business for adult diapers.

The second said that the number of elderly people (over 65
years) arrested for shoplifting in Tokyo exceeds the number of teenaged
shoplifters. This could be a reflection again of the changing demographic
profile or could be because the moral standards of the younger generation are
better than that of the older generation.

The third story is on the increasing popularity of palm
surgery, to get palm lines redrawn as prescribed by the ‘science’ of palmistry,
and thereby get one’s destiny or fate reshaped the way one wants it. I found
this brilliant. Even Indians have not thought of this.

Finally, there’s this article on a unique beauty treatment
offered by salons in Japan. Live snails
are made to crawl on one’s face. It is claimed that the slime removes old cells
and rejuvenates the skin.

Why did I read all these stories in a span of two days? Is
there an overarching theme that I am
missing out? Update 17/07/13 : I missed a fifth one. This story is about the craze for "eyeball licking" among Japanese schoolchildren that is reportedly
causing a surge in eye-related infections

4 comments:

Raj,Regarding #1 & #2, if you haven't done so yet, I suggest you read this great book published in 2006, "America alone : the end of the world as we know it", by Mark Steyn. He has some excellent points on changing demographics. I read it recently and loved it.